Erin Ward, Ms.Ed, CAS, holds a Master's Degree in Education and a Certificate of Advanced Study in Counseling and is committed to combining her personal experiences as a mother of a child with complex medical needs with her professional skills to work towards improving parent-professional relationships and the quality of healthcare for children and adults with tracheostomies. Erin is a founding member of TrachCare, Inc., a Massachusetts-based, non-profit organization established in 2005 providing support and information to parents, caregivers, and healthcare providers of children who have, or previously had a tracheostomy (www.trachcare.org). As a Faculty Associate for the Institute for Professionalism and Ethical Practice at Children's Hospital Boston since 2005, Erin contributes to developing curricula and facilitates medical education programs that focus on enhancing relational and communication skills. Erin served as the 2013 Conference Director for her son's diagnosis community's biennial conference, MTM-CNM Family Conference (www.mtm-cnm.com). She is also on the Board of Directors for the developing Global Tracheostomy Collaborative (www.globaltrach.org).